Yee-haw y'all! It's country night on
Dancing with the Stars!!!! Grab a beer, slap on that cowboy hat, and get ready for a hootenanny. YEE-HAW!!!!!!!
Psst. I see plaid people.
Gilles and Peta (CHA CHA) – Based on Gilles' tweets from this past week (and a couple of retweets of Peta) this is one of the hardest Cha Chas ever. EVER!!! And, I'd probably agree with them! The difficulty level (for Gilles) was certainly up there. The solo part in the middle kind of (inadvertently) highlighted some of his weaker areas (footwork) but it DID showcase some of his strengths (overall sexiness – YOWZA), so I'd say it was has a mixed result. I did like it, though, and think Gilles did great. Not 10 great. But really, really good.
MY SCORE: 9 JUDGES SCORE: 9, 9, 9.5 = 27.5 = 84/90 (with added scores from last week)PS. I'm sure you remember the video, but just in case, here's the one they were using for inspiration.
Sabrina and Louis (RUMBA) – This dance is meant to represent a very difficult relationship that Sabrina went through a while ago (they didn't specify how long ago). Apparently, he was on drugs - yada yada yada – they broke up. That was really all they alluded to in the rehearsal footage. Anywho, the dance, itself, was actually really lovely. Her legs looked friggin' fantastic. And her hip action was MUCH better this week. Her solo work at the beginning was a little odd (I think I get what Louis was going for, but it didn't do much for me). All in all, though, it was a very, VERY, nice dance and I loved it.
MY SCORE: 10 JUDGES SCORE: 10, 10, 10 = 30 = 88.5/90 Louis really is a FANTASTIC choreographer. The mix of fast and slow was excellent.
Kelly and Val (TANGO) – OMG SHE'S DRESSED LIKE SCARLETT O'HARA!!!!! Guess that makes Val Rhett Butler. Suuuure.
So what do you do when your partner weighs practically nothing and you have to move across the floor and turn in tight circles together? Apparently, you just let her all but drag her toes across the floor and hope for the best. Kelly was definitely off balance and I'm not sure if it's from a lack of practice time or how hard the dance was. Either way, she looked really shaky. And even if I did
LOVE the theme (GwtW is a favorite of mine) I'm afraid this was not one of their better weeks. Sorry kiddo.
MY SCORE: 7.5 JUDGES SCORE: 9, 9, 9 = 27 = 78.5This is their inspiration (in case you don't recognize it):
Melissa and Tony(VIENNESE WALTZ) – We get it. Melissa is a former ballerina. UGH! Sadly, what she STILL isn't, is a ballroom dancer. Come on Tony!!! Teach her something!!! Quit relying on her talent!!! Phew, ok. Sorry, had to get that out. I had a number of issues with this dance (aside from the ballet stuff) so let's dig right in. Dancing in flats was a B-A-D idea. Every errant foot is seen sooooo much easier. The times she should have been on her heal, she was on her toes. Biiiiiggg no no. (THIS is the stuff Tony seems unable/unwilling to make her learn) Breaking hold, in and of itself, isn't a bad thing IF they are doing American Style, which Len does NOT like. Carrie Ann doesn't know the difference STILL (because she's such a massive idiot), so she's going to (undoubtedly) score them lower because of it. I'm only going to score them lower because of Melissa's continued horrible footwork and Tony's inability to move away from the comfortable. Bad move, man. Bad move.
MY SCORE: 7.5 JUDGES SCORE: 9.5, 10, 10 = 29.5 = 86/90 So, Len, one week breaking hold is the worst they can do. But this week it's worth a 10?? WTH??? Make up your mind old man!!!
Shawn and Derek (CHA CHA) – There's a tractor AND a cow on the dance floor. Just thought I'd point that out. As much as I dislike Derek, and
really want to dislike his choreography, I just can't with this one. This was really cute and bubbly (of course, with the song, how could you not be?) and it was a good routine. Shawn's solo didn't have all that much Cha Cha, more like some stuff you'd see in a gymnastics floor routine, so that stunk. But not enough for me to hate on it. Just mark it down a few pegs.
MY SCORE: 8.5 JUDGES SCORE: 9.5, 8.5, 10 = 28 = 84.5Kirstie and Maks (RUMBA) – I love their relationship. They fight. They make up. And you can see that they really do love each other. It's the way a real partnership should work, IMO. Can we talk a minute about how amazing Kirstie looks??? She has lost soooo much weight and just looks fantastic. I am so proud of her. And her Rumba technique?? Incredible!!! Great hip action (too bad we couldn't see the feet through the fog – smart move, Maks) and lovely emotion. I thought this was THE best dance she's ever done. No, she doesn't have the level of difficulty of a Shawn or Sabrina routine, but she's also 3 times as old as they are. So, Kirstie, WELL DONE!!!
MY SCORE: 9.5 JUDGES SCORE: 9.5, 8.5, 9.5 = 27.5 = 80Apolo and Karina (VIENNESE WALTZ) – Hmmm. Let's see if these two stay in hold the whole time or if they break apart. Hmmm. Maybe it's allowed this week? Who knows. For some reason this routine felt really short to me. Anyone else think that? It was lovely, and I think Apolo did a great job. It was kind of hard to see him at times because Karina was throwing her hair around so much, but it was a very nice dance. I'm happy with what they did, but I'm not overjoyed. Man, I'm hard to please tonight!!!
MY SCORE: 9 JUDGES SCORE: 10, 10, 10 = 30 = 86.5 3 tens? Really??
Emmitt and Cheryl (FOXTROT) – Holy Back-Lead Batman!!
Geez, Cheryl. At least TRY to hide that you're leading him. The dance of Foxtrot is so far removed from “Islands in the Stream” that I'm having a seriously hard time connecting to this routine. It just felt...wrong. Not “This defiles the fabulousness of Kenny and Dolly” wrong, but “Those moves just don't fit this style” wrong. Does that make sense? Also, his solo was not a FOXTROT solo, so I'm a bit peeved about that. Or maybe I'm just confused. That must be it.
MY SCORE: 8 JUDGES SCORE: 8.5, 8.5, 9.5 = 26.5 = 82.5Group Dance – The judges will be awarding 2 bonus points to the couple they feel is the most entertaining. This was fun and I'm basing my pick purely on the one couple that made me laugh and start bouncing in my seat. And that couple was.....KIRSTIE AND MAKS!!! The parts where everyone was out there made it too hard to really see individual parts, so I'm only using the solo parts to judge. It looked like a few folks tried tricks that didn't really work, but Apolo's and Karina's did (so did Kelly and Val) so they both get an honorable mention.
M y 2 bonus points go to Kirstie and Maks. The Judges picked KIRSTIE AND MAKS TOO!!!! ;D
My Leader Board............................Judges Leader BoardKirstie............11.5................................Sabrina.........88.5
Sabrina...........10...................................Apolo...........86.5
Gilles..............9.....................................Melissa........86
Apolo.............9......................................Shawn.........84.5
Shawn............8.5...................................Gilles...........84
Emmitt...........8......................................Emmitt........82.5
Melissa...........7.5...................................Kirstie.........82
Kelly...............7.5...................................Kelly...........78.5
So who's going home? Tune in tomorrow!!!
So what do you do when your partner weighs practically nothing and you have to move across the floor and turn in tight circles together? Apparently, you just let her all but drag her toes across the floor and hope for the best. Kelly was definitely off balance and I'm not sure if it's from a lack of practice time or how hard the dance was. Either way, she looked really shaky. And even if I did LOVE the theme (GwtW is a favorite of mine) I'm afraid this was not one of their better weeks. Sorry kiddo. MY SCORE: 7.5 JUDGES SCORE: 9, 9, 9 = 27 = 78.5
MY SCORE: 8 JUDGES SCORE: 8.5, 8.5, 9.5 = 26.5 = 82.5
Disappointed in the result. She was good and she was starting to get even better. I think Apolo peaked a while ago and Karina is NOT helping him. The ultimate irony here, though, is that Sabrina went home in week 6 of her other season.